Devastating Effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder on Individuals

Picture this: You wake up in the morning, and are a bit groggy. After you hit the snooze button for the second time, you know getting up is necessary, or you will be late for school. After getting out of bed and taking a shower, now fully awake, worry begins to plague you. Is the shower turned all the way off? You go back to the bathroom to check, and the shower is indeed turned off. However, quickly the relief fades. What if the faucet is leaking? What if the water is not really turned off at all, and you were just unobservant? Even if checking again makes you late for school, it is necessary. It is better to check again than to leave the shower running all day, because then the house may flood, or someone may drown. Deep down…show more content…

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, and sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel drive to do something (compulsions)” (Goodman np). OCD affects approximately two to three percent of the world’s population (Parks 7). OCD is a cycle. The person is obsessed with a danger or risk; they compulsively act upon this obsession until they feel a temporary relief. Later, the relief will fade and the cycle will repeat. The symptoms have a waxing and waning cycle. Symptoms will lessen in their severity for months or even years before regaining previous strength. Only five to ten percent of afflicted people experience permanent remission (Goodman np). When testing for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, doctors run a series of psychological tests. A physical exam will not show evidence of OCD. To be officially diagnosed patients must meet these criteria listed in the American Psychology Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: the obsession and compulsions must be uncontrollable, the patient must understand the symptoms are unreasonable, and that the obsessions and compulsions interrupt the patient’s daily routine (Parks 18). Many people may confuse OCD with other phases, particularly in a child’s life. Children may have

Related Documents

Rather, the diagnosis is made based on an assessment of the person's symptoms. One such test from the OCD Foundation is the Florida Obsessive Compulsive Inventory Obsessive Compulsive Disorder screening test, developed by Dr.
5
Wayne Goodman of the University of Florida (1994). It is an inventory of symptoms of OCD, and it can aid in the diagnosis of the disorder.
One of the main questions associated with OCD is, when does OCD begin? Well, OCD can start anytime from preschool age to adulthood…

uncomfortable if things were not done in a certain way” (Schmwartz, M Jeffrey M.D. pg. 31). One study found that patients who suffer from OCD usually had other first degree family members who suffered from OCD or had tendency which were a bit more compulsive then the “normal” human. When asked, an OCD patient felt that twenty to thirty percent of there first degree relatives were known to have OCD. More research needs to be done on the basis of heredity in OCD but it seems as though something is influencing…

Vickie recognized that the obsession was the product of her mind.
After taking all the information gathered in the three initial therapy sessions and referring to
diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) which states Obsessions:
recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during
the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
Compulsion: repetitive behaviors (e.g.,…

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder tends to occur in families, so genes may be involved. A person’s childhood and environment may also play roles. As with all personality disorders, the person must be at least 18 years old before they can be diagnosed. OCPD is approximately twice as prevalent in males then females, and occurs in about 1 percent of the general population. It is seen in 3 to 10 percent of psychiatric outpatients. Like most personality disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality…

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, and sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel drive to do something (compulsions)” (Goodman np). OCD affects approximately two to three percent of the world’s population (Parks 7). OCD is a cycle. The person is obsessed with a danger or risk; they compulsively act upon this obsession until they feel a temporary relief. Later, the relief will fade and the…

the brain and are therefore associated with high rates of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The article goes on to explain that cognitive models for OCD suggest a variety of mechanisms underlying the development of the majority of obsessions such as the need for completeness, abnormal judgment of risk, shame and disproportionate doubt.
The Yale- Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale are widely used to assess the severity of OCD (Goldman…

compulsion are linked; "I fear this bad thing will happen if I stop checking or hand washing, so I can't stop even if it doesn't make any sense."
Research shows that OCD is a brain disorder and tends to run in families, although this doesn't mean the child will definitely develop symptoms if a parent has the disorder. Recent studies have also shown that OCD may develop or worsen after a streptococcal bacterial infection. A child may also develop OCD with no previous family history.
Children and…

The number one distraction for obsession is ritualistic compulsive behavior. These compulsive behaviors are things such as washing, counting, tapping etc. Every time the client has the obsessive thought, they will substitute it with the compulsive behavior. The urge to enact the behavior is so strong that the client will do it in order to keep the obsessive thoughts away. The more the compulsion is completed the more it will become ingrained in the client’s mind, and the harder the compulsion…

routine, and frequent tutelage of diseases resulted in the development of symptoms within the Obsessive-Compulsive spectrum. Based upon this moving display of concern for the safety of her son, this author can only concluded there is a high probability that Mrs. Hughes was a likely source of Howard’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
A second potential etiology for developing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders involves genetic vulnerabilities. There have been numerous genetically based studies involving…

In the early years it was very rare to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. People who had symptoms were embarrassed and ashamed, so they never wanted to receive help. In the 1980’s the National Institute of Mental Health did a survey and it showed that 2-3 percent or about 5 million people have OCD or had it sometime throughout their life. OCD is more common than such mental illnesses as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or panic disorder. OCD usually affects those in…